A cutie with an impressive spec… by the way, I am talking about the Xda Orbit 2

 

The highly anticipated Xda Orbit 2 is now available in the UK, and Steve at VCCP, the advertising agency behind the Cocoon seeding programme, asked me a couple of weeks ago if I was interested in reviewing the device… and I simply couldn’t say no to a shiny new toy!

The deal with VCCP is quite clear - I’ve been given this phone with no obligation upon me to say or write anything about it. But I will, as this is the sort of phone I was planning on upgrading to and I am glad to see a bigger range of smartphones available on the market.

I’ve been playing with my new toy in the last few days and my verdict so far can be summed up in one word: wow! The new Xda Orbit 2 is definitely a cutie with an impressive spec!

Whilst smartphones tend to be masculine looking, the Orbit 2’s design is gender neutral, yet stylish. The Orbit 2 is very easy to use … so intuitive in fact that the manual is still in the box! Saying that, O2 should still aim at improving their manuals (I believe I said the same thing about the Cocoon a few months ago…). I felt that the manual could have been organised in a more logical and comprehensive way (without being too bulky) as the information is all over the place… 

I am so far terribly excited about the camera, music player/digital radio (can’t wait to see whether I can at last ditch my iPod) as well as Co-Pilot 7. I am planning on blogging about these features in the coming weeks…. In the meantime, more reviews can be found right here on the Xda Orbit 2 Blog.

Calling all researchers!

 

Here’s the best Social Networking idea I’ve seen in ages – if you are a researcher, you simply have to sign up! Ray Poynter has put together a site for researchers called the Market Research Space… I just signed up and will work on my page at the week-end.  The site allows you to blog, post videoas etc etc.

I will keep you posted on how the site evolves but I think the concept is a fantastic idea so spread the word!

A few thoughts on seeding programmes

    Steve at VCCP asked me a while back how I felt about the 3 Skypephone seeding programme. The timing is perfect to share my thoughts as I have just agreed to take part in another seeding programme…

1)    Pitch it right

In case you didn’t know, my name is not Darryl and no I don’t live in the US! I am not quite sure how I would be able to blog about a US product when I don’t have any knowledge of the market… Read my blog (or at least pretend to read it!) and understand what makes me tick and what doesn’t. In the 5 minutes that you take to customize your pitch, the chances of me blogging about your product has gone up from 1% to 100%…

2)    So I’ve agreed to write about your product…

Comments and feedback about my posts are always welcome – it shows that you’ve bothered checking your links and that you care about what I have to say. I would suggest leaving comments on both my blog and your blog – it allows conversation (blogging is all about sharing ideas, right?) and will probably increase traffic on your blog.

Both the O2 Cocoon and 3 Skypephone campaigns were well executed – good pitches, interesting ideas but overall I felt that that the online discussion was one-way when I would have liked to see a two-way conversation i.e. people bouncing off ideas of each other, rather than a list of all the posts/reviews. As a researcher, I like to understand the why’s and how’s therefore when criticising a feature, I would have liked to know why the bloggers felt this feature was bad and how/what could be improved in future phones.

The 3 campaign was cleverly orchestrated using a number of successful web 2.0 sites such as flickr and youtube, however (sorry guys!) I didn’t get involved beyond the phone review, partly because I am not the target market for the 3 Skypephone.  

Both the O2 and 3 blogs look great however, my main criticism is that they are hard to find and I can’t see a link on the networks’ websites – consumers should be able to find these blogs easily and I would suggest that O2 and 3 put a link on their homepage which should hopefully increase traffic hence online interaction.

Kudos to O2 for allowing consumers to co-create (i.e. write posts) on their blogs – this blog could be a useful resource covering phone reviews as well as an online troubleshooting portal. If marketed properly, the blog could become a real strength for O2…

Looking forward to reading your thoughts on this   

What not to do in Qual Research

My Media Week

 

Marzipan Fruit Display - Milan

I have been tagged by Neil on the current meme sweeping the blogosphere - the media week meme.

Here we go…

What I have read…

• Wikinomics (How mass collaboration changed everything) – I just love that book! It’s fun, engaging and informative and the  website is simply fantastic. I can’t wait for round 2!
• The Celestine Prophecy – I recently started raja yoga meditation and my teacher recommended this book. The novel discusses various psychological and spiritual ideas which are often regarded as New Ages themes. A great read even though you’re not into yoga (kind of Dan Brown style!)

Next on the list – Amélie Nothomb Ni d’Eve, Ni d’Adam

What I have watched… I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time to go to the movies although there are apparently quite a few good movies out there at the mo… TV-wise, I am hooked on Dancing on Ice and I always need my daily fix of Sex in the City!

What I have listened to… A bit of everything and anything although I seem to be developing a passion for Blues and Jazz – I must be getting old! Ain’t Nothing but… is a must on a Thursday night!

Now, I’d like to tag – C.B Whittemore, Organic Frog and, Michael Wagner who has been a little quiet lately… all good Mike?

Have a great week-end everyone!